White House says Biden briefed on Omicron as fears rise variant could undo progress against virus

Scientists are racing to tweak present vaccines towards the brand new Covid variant spreading quickly throughout the planet.

The ‘monster’ pressure, named Omicron and designated a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Well being Group on Friday, has reached the UK and Belgium after being found in South Africa.

The UN public well being physique sparked panic by warning that preliminary proof advised that the mutation has an elevated danger of reinfection and is extra transmissible than different strains. Downing Road’s scientists beforehand stated that the variant could possibly be vaccine resistant.

Well being Secretary Sajid Javid banned flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia yesterday, telling MPs that there’s ‘large worldwide concern’ concerning the mutation. 

The Prime Minister is because of maintain a press convention at 5pm this night after well being officers confirmed two circumstances of Omicron had been present in Nottingham and Brentwood. 

Now quite a lot of pharmaceutical corporations have stated they’re working to adapt their vaccines to beat Omicron. AstraZeneca stated it has ‘developed, in shut collaboration with Oxford College, a vaccine platform that allows us to reply shortly to new variants which will emerge’ and is ‘already conducting analysis in areas the place the variant has been recognized’. 

Pfizer and BioNTech stated that within the occasion of a variant which might escape the results of the vaccines, the agency expects ‘to have the ability to develop and produce a tailored vaccine towards that variant in roughly 100 days, topic to regulatory approval’. 

Novavax stated it has ‘already initiated improvement of a brand new recombinant spike protein based mostly on the recognized genetic sequence of B.1.1.529 and could have it prepared to start testing and manufacturing throughout the subsequent few weeks’.

And Moderna stated: ‘Since early 2021, Moderna has superior a complete technique to anticipate new variants of concern. This technique contains three ranges of response ought to the presently approved 50 microgram booster dose of mRNA-1273 show inadequate to spice up waning immunity towards the Omicron variant.’ 

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, expressed cautious optimism that present vaccines could possibly be efficient at stopping severe illness from the Omicron variant. Chatting with BBC Radio 4’s As we speak programme, he added that that many of the mutations are in comparable areas seen in different Covid variants thus far.

Scientists are racing to tweak present vaccines towards the brand new Covid variant spreading quickly throughout the planet

The EU, US and Canada all adopted Britain’s transfer to impose journey restrictions on guests from southern Africa forward of the WHO including the pressure, also called B.1.1.529, to its highest class for regarding variants. 

Mr Javid informed the Commons on Friday that there are considerations the variant could also be extra transmissible, make present vaccines much less efficient, and it could hinder one of many UK’s Covid therapies, Ronapreve.

Ministers had been going through calls to go additional to forestall a wave of the brand new variant arriving in Britain whereas a Delta surge is ongoing, as Belgium turned the primary EU nation to announce a case.

Professor John Edmunds, who advises the Authorities as a part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), warned that might create a ‘very, very, very troublesome state of affairs’. 

Nonetheless, Prof Pollard stated a brand new vaccine to fight Omicron might start ‘very quickly’ if required, including: ‘The processes of how one goes about creating a brand new vaccine are more and more well-oiled, so if it is wanted that’s one thing that could possibly be moved very quickly.’

Marc Van Ranst, a virologist on the Rega Institute in Belgium, stated a pattern was confirmed because the variant in a traveller who returned from Egypt on November 11 earlier than first exhibiting signs 11 days later.

The six African international locations had been added to the UK’s journey crimson record on Thursday night and passengers arriving within the UK from these international locations from 4am on Sunday will likely be required to e book and pay for a Authorities-approved lodge quarantine for 10 days. Downing Road urged anybody who has arrived from these international locations just lately to get examined.

Mr Javid stated discussions are ongoing over the prospect of including additional international locations to the crimson record, telling the Commons the Authorities ‘will not hesitate to behave if we want to take action’.

Boris Johnson held a name with South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday afternoon after overseas minister Naledi Pandor stated the flight ban ‘appears to have been rushed’.

The Prime Minister ‘counseled South Africa’s fast genomic sequencing’ and its ‘management in transparently sharing scientific knowledge’, Downing Road stated.

‘They mentioned the challenges posed globally by the brand new Covid-19 variant and methods to work collectively to cope with it and reopen worldwide journey,’ a press release stated.

Prof Edmunds stated the brand new pressure ‘is a big fear’ and that ‘all the information suggests’ it will be capable to evade present immunity.

‘Our fears are it will accomplish that to a big extent,’ he informed BBC Radio 4’s PM program.

CHELMSFORD: The opposite was present in Chelmsford, Essex, which has seen an identical pattern. Town noticed a minimum of 135 new circumstances on Wednesday, the most recent date regional knowledge is out there for

Prof Edmunds urged ministers to have a look at extending journey restrictions and to arrange a plan to cope with Omicron as a result of ‘sooner or later we’ll get this variant right here within the UK’.

Professor Calum Semple, one other Sage adviser, informed BBC Breakfast: ‘If you happen to can gradual the virus coming into the nation since you’re timed for the booster marketing campaign to get forward of it, and it (then) leaves the scientists to see if there may be something to fret about, which it would not appear it.

‘The virus will get right here by hook or criminal, finally, it can come right here as persons are asymptomatic, nevertheless it doesn’t suggest we should not attempt to gradual it down.’

He stated he’s an advocate of masks and hand-washing and stated: ‘I really feel notably uncomfortable on public transport. I am pro-mask within the outlets and public transport. We nonetheless have excessive ranges of coronavirus however the vaccines are working.’

Professor Semple inspired individuals to get their coronavirus booster vaccines.

Professor Brendan Wren, of the London College of Hygiene and Tropical Medication stated individuals ought to ‘keep calm and never overreact’, including that scientists can ‘simply modify vaccines to fulfill new variants’.

Putting an optimistic tone within the Each day Mail, he wrote: ‘Within the arms race towards the virus, humanity is successful – and we’re effectively ready. This isn’t the final time one other variant will emerge.

‘Within the meantime, it’s important to recollect to remain calm and never overreact.’

The connection between China and the World Well being Group has come underneath renewed scrutiny after the UN physique appeared to skip over the Greek letter ‘Xi’ and name the brand new Covid variant ‘Omicron’ as an alternative.

Final night time the WHO sparked criticism from China hawks after it named the mutation ‘Omicron’ as an alternative of ‘Nu’ or ‘Xi’.

The UN physique has been utilizing Greek letters akin to ‘Alpha’, ‘Beta’ and ‘Delta’ to explain the variants, saying on its web site it will ‘be simpler and extra sensible to be mentioned by non-scientific audiences’.

Nonetheless, its resolution to call the variant from southern Africa ‘Omicron’ has sparked hypothesis that the WHO intentionally ignored ‘Xi’ to keep away from angering the President of China, Xi Jinping.

President Xi is alleged to have important affect over WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian minister whose nation has been a significant recipient of Chinese language funding.

Tedros has been accused of utilizing his function to make additional appointments that had been preferable to Beijing, together with making Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador. 

The Chinese language authorities has been accused of utilizing an ‘aggressive’ affect marketing campaign on the WHO’s response to the preliminary Covid outbreak which led to it lacking its likelihood to cease the pandemic. It is usually alleged that the UN physique’s independence was eroded previous to the worldwide unfold of the virus in early 2020.

Donald Trump Jr wrote on Twitter: ‘So far as I am involved the unique will at all times be the Xi variant.’  

Donald Trump Jr tweeted: ‘So far as I am involved the unique will at all times be the Xi variant’

President Xi is alleged to have important affect over WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian minister whose nation has been a significant recipient of Chinese language funding

The connection between China and the World Well being Group has come underneath additional scrutiny after the UN physique appeared to skip over the Greek letter ‘Xi’ and name the brand new Covid variant ‘Omicron’ as an alternative

And Republican Senator Ted Cruz retweeted a Telegraph editor who cited a WHO supply saying Xi was skipped to ‘keep away from stigmatizing a area’.

‘If the WHO is that this frightened of the Chinese language Communist Celebration, how can they be trusted to name them out subsequent time they’re making an attempt to cowl up a catastrophic world pandemic?’ Mr Cruz stated.

Wall Road Journal columnist Ben Zimmer advised: ‘Kudos to the WHO for skipping over the possibly complicated Nu and Xi names and going straight to Omicron.’

A WHO spokesman informed The New York Submit that it prevented ‘Nu’ as a result of it feared ‘individuals would assume it was the brand new variant, slightly than a reputation’.

They added: ‘And Xi as a result of it is a widespread surname and we’ve got agreed [to] naming guidelines that keep away from utilizing place names, individuals’s names, animal, and many others. to keep away from stigma.’

Earlier this yr, an investigation by The Sunday Instances revealed efforts by Beijing to manage the WHO’s resolution making, sabotage investigations and even set up officers.

The newspaper claims the WHO did not publicly problem Chinese language misinformation, delayed declaring a world emergency, and discouraged governments from putting journey bans on China to guard its economic system.

It has additionally been advised officers agreed a ‘backroom deal’ with the Chinese language to water down the inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.

This meant steering scientists away from the idea coronavirus really escaped from a Wuhan laboratory, slightly than coming from wild animals in a moist market within the metropolis in December 2019.

The idea was initially dismissed as ‘extraordinarily unlikely’ by the WHO however now consultants say there might need been ‘human error’ on the lab.

Central to the paper’s claims is that shut ties between the WHO’s management and China had impacted on its skill to problem the nation over the emergence of the virus.

It’s advised China has for a while been utilizing monetary leverage over poorer nations to put in its most popular figures into key roles on the WHO in addition to different UN-governed our bodies.

Chief among the many resolution makers on the WHO is Tedros, who’s a long-time good friend of China. He visited President Xi in January 2020, two months earlier than the pandemic started. 

Between 2000 and 2012, there have been round 130 official Chinese language finance tasks in Zimbabwe, with some totalling a whole lot of million of kilos to construct hydroelectric dams and supply agricultural equipment.

In June final yr, Zimbabwe was one in every of 53 international locations to again the Hong Kong nationwide safety regulation on the United Nations, derided by Western nations as a clampdown on protestors and free speech by China.

Professor Richard Ebright, a fellow of America’s Infectious Illness Society, informed the Instances that China’s efforts had a ‘decisive function’ in affecting the company’s failure to behave. 

An investigation has claimed that China used ‘aggressive’ affect on the World Well being Group to manage resolution making, sabotage investigations and even set up most popular officers within the run as much as the coronavirus pandemic

Whereas China has tried to insist the virus originated elsewhere, teachers, politicians and the media have begun to ponder the likelihood it leaked from a high-level biochemical lab in Wuhan – elevating suspicions that Chinese language officers merely hid proof of the early unfold 

‘There was no scientific or medical or coverage justification for the stance that the WHO took in January and February of 2020. That was completely premised on sustaining passable ties to the Chinese language authorities,’ he stated.

‘Via that course of, the WHO actively resisted and obstructed efforts by different nations to implement efficient border controls that might have restricted the unfold, and even contained the unfold of the outbreak.’ 

The help for Tedros particularly had a ‘remarkably excessive return on the funding’ in comparison with the funds and affect used to assist him get elected.

A spokesperson for the group hit again on the claims, saying: ‘WHO’s prime precedence is ending the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.’

They later added: ‘The Sunday Instances piece is riddled with inaccuracies, falsehoods, half-truths, unsubstantiated assertions, willful distortions and the intentional omission of something that did not match the pre-determined premise of the story.

‘There have been a number of impartial opinions of the worldwide response to Covid-19, together with the work of WHO, and these opinions observe the work of the group and the early warnings we issued.

‘Frankly, WHO’s prime precedence is ending the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re supporting international locations to implement complete, evidence-based responses, based mostly on the constant use of public well being measures and the equitable use of life-saving instruments together with vaccines.

‘Particularly, we’re working to allow all international locations to vaccinate well being employees, older individuals and different weak teams, at a time when 75 per cent of vaccinations have taken place in solely 10 international locations.’

Two circumstances of the super-mutant Omicron Covid variant have been detected within the UK, the Well being Secretary has introduced. 

Sajid Javid introduced this afternoon that two circumstances of the pressure had been present in Nottingham and Brentwood, Essex — with each circumstances linked to travelling to southern Africa.

Some 48 flights carrying as much as 300 individuals every – almost 15,000 individuals in complete – from South Africa have come to the UK since November 11, when the variant was first found in Botswana.

The people and all members of their households had been informed to enter self-isolation after the UK Well being Safety Company (UKHSA) confirmed the sequencing.

Boris Johnson will maintain a press convention at 5pm this night to debate Britain’s response to the brand new pressure, with 4 extra international locations anticipated already added to the no-fly record this afternoon. 

Mr Javid stated the well being secretary stated Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia can be added to the record, including ‘we have at all times been very clear that we cannot hesitate to take additional motion if that’s what is required’.

Final night time the World Well being Group branded the mutation a ‘variant of concern’ as international locations together with Britain and the US moved to close their borders to 6 international locations from southern Africa, the place the variant is consider to have emerged.  

Its sudden look this week sparked panic in Whitehall circles, with Downing Road’s scientists warning it made vaccines a minimum of 40 per cent much less efficient at stopping transmission in comparison with Delta and Mr Javid threatening to reimpose lockdown if vital. 

Britain’s first two Omicron an infection got here as a spate of circumstances had been discovered throughout Europe, with a minimum of 61 new circumstances of Covid getting into the Netherlands from South Africa this morning. Authorities are presently sequencing the checks for the brand new variant. 

Europe’s first case of the variant was noticed in Belgium yesterday — regardless of the unvaccinated girl who caught it having travelled to Turkey and Egypt, not souther Africa the place the pressure emerged.

And Germany and the Czech Republic each confirmed suspected circumstances in the present day. Germany’s preliminary sequencing suggests a traveler from South Africa was carrying the virus with a number of mutations shared by Omicron. Officers are awaiting full sequencing later in the present day. 

And Australian authorities – who additionally banned journey to 9 international locations within the area – concern the variant could have already entered the nation. 

Britain has sequenced two circumstances of the Omicron variant in Nottingham and Chelmsford, Well being Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed this afternoon

NOTTINGHAM: One case of Omicron has been present in Nottingham, the place infections have been creeping up steadily in latest weeks in keeping with the nationwide image

South Africa recorded 2,828 new Covid circumstances yesterday, greater than double the 1,374 recorded final Thursday, however an infection ranges have but to skyrocket and no hospitalizations with the brand new variant have occurred thus far. Graph exhibits: The seven-day common  for circumstances within the nation

On one other day of coronavirus chaos: 

• The primary European case in Belgium was revealed to be an unvaccinated younger girl examined optimistic;
• The variety of sufferers hospitalized with Covid fell sharply within the UK;
• An official report concluded {that a} go to to the theatre or a soccer match places you at no extra danger of catching Covid than seeing your pals;
• South African consultants advised there was ‘each indication’ that vaccines had been nonetheless efficient towards the variant;
• Hypothesis mounted that the invention of the pressure would result in vaccine consultants approving booster jabs for all adults quickly;
• One other 50,091 virus circumstances and 160 deaths had been reported in Britain.

In an announcement this afternoon, Mr Javid stated: ‘As we speak I can announce one factor that we’re doing instantly is finishing up focused testing and sequencing of optimistic circumstances within the two areas which are affected.

‘We all know there’s this new variant on the market. We do not know sufficient about it but however from what we do know, the protections that we’ve got – particularly the vaccines – are massively necessary.

‘We are going to do no matter is critical to guard the progress we’ve got made as a rustic. 

‘We have come a good distance for the reason that summer season and we maintain all of this underneath overview and if we have to take additional motion, we’ll.’ 

Mr Javid stated anybody who has travelled within the final 10 days to the ten international locations now on the crimson record, they have to self-isolate and take PCR checks.

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty stated: ‘We are going to proceed to work carefully with the worldwide group to shortly collect and analyse info on this variant to grasp any potential improve in transmissibility or resistance to vaccines.’ 

It comes as Mr Johnson prepares to implement recent journey bans on a number of nations, after Britain halted flights to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe yesterday.

Specialists warned Britain might face restrictions being reintroduced within the nation this Christmas however the Prime Minister hopes journey bans might stop the necessity for one more lockdown. 

Professor Whitty beforehand stated he fears Britons is not going to settle for one other nationwide lockdown to combat off the variant over the winter due to ‘behavioral fatigue’ brought on by two years of restrictions. 

South Africa recorded 2,828 new Covid circumstances yesterday, greater than double the 1,374 recorded final Thursday, however an infection ranges have but to skyrocket within the nation and no hospitalizations with the brand new variant have occurred thus far.

And Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, one of many Oxford scientists behind the AstraZeneca vaccine, in the present day expressed cautious optimism that present vaccines could possibly be efficient at stopping severe illness from the variant. 

The US has joined the rising record of nations to shut their borders, with Joe Biden saying the pandemic is not going to finish till world vaccinations are in place. New York governor Kathy Hochul yesterday declared a state of emergency as Covid transmission reached charges not seen since April 2020 

Officers in Germany in the present day confirmed the primary suspected case of Omicron within the nation got here from somebody getting back from South Africa.

‘The Omicron variant has with robust probability already arrived in Germany,’ Kai Klose, social affairs minister within the western state of Hesse, tweeted, referring to the pressure first detected in southern Africa.

Klose stated that checks late Friday on the traveller who had returned to Germany from South Africa revealed ‘a number of mutations typical of Omicron’.

‘As there may be this robust suspicion, the particular person has been remoted at dwelling. The total sequencing remains to be to be accomplished.’

Klose’s ministry stated that the particular person had arrived in Germany, the EU’s most populous nation, at Frankfurt worldwide airport, the nation’s busiest. 

In the meantime, Sir Andrew in the present day moved to calm fears in Britain, claiming many of the pressure’s mutations are in comparable areas seen in different variants thus far. 

Crimson Cross well being employees transport passengers contaminated with coronavirus getting back from South Africa for a quarantine in a lodge in Schiphol, the Netherlands, in the present day

A girl from the KLM flight KL598 from Cape City, South Africa, queues for her Covid check at Amsterdam Airport final night time

Passengers sit of their seats aboard KLM Flight 598 on the tarmac at Schipol airport in Amsterdam after it landed from Cape City, South Africa, yesterday

Passengers from KLM flight KL598 from Cape City, South Africa, wait to be screened at Amsterdam Airport yesterday

This chart exhibits the proportion of circumstances that had been the B.1.1.529 variant (blue) and Indian ‘Delta’ variant (crimson) over time in Guateng province in South Africa, the place the virus is most prevalent. It means that the mutant pressure might outcompete Delta within the province inside weeks

He informed BBC Radio 4’s As we speak programme: ‘That tells you that regardless of these mutations present in different variants the vaccines have continued to forestall severe illness as we have moved by means of Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

‘At the very least from a speculative perspective we’ve got some optimism that the vaccine ought to nonetheless work towards a brand new variant for severe illness however actually we have to wait a number of weeks to have that confirmed.

‘It is extraordinarily unlikely {that a} reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated inhabitants like we noticed final yr goes to occur.’ 

Professor Pollard stated a brand new vaccine to fight Omicron might start ‘very quickly’ if required.

‘The processes of how one goes about creating a brand new vaccine are more and more well-oiled, so if it is wanted that’s one thing that could possibly be moved very quickly.’ 

South African consultants yesterday additionally tried to calm the wave of panic over the variant, describing it as a ‘storm in a tea cup’. 

In the meantime, British vaccine job drive member Sir John Edmunds stated journey bans is not going to maintain the brand new variant away from British shores however might delay a possible surge in circumstances past the festive interval to guard the NHS from additional stress.

Specialists nonetheless have insisted there may be ‘no believable state of affairs’ during which Omicron will take the UK again to ‘sq. one’, and known as for ‘calm heads’ regardless of the halting of flights from southern Africa. 

Well being Secretary Sajid Javid informed MPs that, whereas there was ‘large worldwide concern’, vaccines had put Britain in a robust place.

Scientists stated present jabs could possibly be tweaked to sort out the variant. And a World Well being Organisation consultant stated that resorting to ‘Plan B’ measures so shortly, akin to working from dwelling or vaccine passports, can be an over-reaction.

However information of the variant noticed the FTSE 100 — the UK’s main share index — endure its sharpest drop since January, closing down at 3.7 per cent, spelling alarm for journey corporations banking on winter bookings.

A senior aviation supply informed the Instances there have been ‘severe jitters’ in all corners of the business, including: ‘There’s now an enormous query mark over Christmas. It’s clear the crimson record will increase and that can have an enormous knock on.’ 

Authorities sources stated ministers ‘wish to prohibit journey to keep away from restrictions at dwelling in any respect prices’, even when it means risking a severe blow to the journey business.

Initially referred to as the ‘Botswana’ variant, the pressure was final night time named ‘Omicron’ by the WHO and formally designated a ‘variant of concern’.

Its discovery earlier this week was so important as a result of it has round 30 mutations, together with some linked to an elevated danger of transmission. One knowledgeable described it because the ‘worst’ variant thus far.

In a rush to restrict the unfold, the EU suspended all flights to southern Africa after the primary case was confirmed in Europe. Britain had already put six nations on the journey ‘crimson record’ – and was poised so as to add two extra final night time.

A authorities adviser advised that the general public ought to be ‘prepared for the likelihood’ of a return to Covid restrictions. However a senior authorities supply informed the Mail: ‘Individuals shouldn’t panic.’